EVENT #6: By Heaven or Hell

[aionmods]

By Heaven or Hell

THE STORY SO FAR...

During the month of Innoseri, the Pleroma and Kenoma were mobilized to the city of Venera to investigate a mysterious affliction of the residents. They were succumbing to a strange apathy that slowly disconnected them from the reality, to the point that many would lose interest in even necessary activities to live. They ran the risk of starving, dying of dehydration, or simply wandering into danger with no sense of preservation.

By entering the city, both sects were exposed to the effects of the illness, which turned out even worse for Aions. In a twist of fate, it was during that time that the Pleroma Aion Estinien met his end at the hands of the Kenoma Aion Makoto, shattering his Innocence-petrified body. It was this act of profane violence that summoned the god-like creature that has caused the illness, sending a great metaphysical scream echoing across the city, demanding to know what had been done to it's child.

The winged being now colloquially known as the Innocence Entity manifested for the first time, in the form of a great cloud of wings floating above the city. It turned it's attentions to the gathered Aions, striking down any that challenged it, enraged by the acts of violence committed in the city it had hopes to envelope in a haze of endless peace. Abel, a Pleroma who had come to Estinien's defense, realized that the entity seemed be acting to protect Estinien, who it considered its ward after he succumbed to the illness its power invoked. Abel beseeched his allies to stay their hand and begged the Innocence leave him and the city be.

The Innocence Entity was reluctant, arguing that life without its 'blessing' would be filled with suffering and strife. Abel, Himeka, Ryunosuke, and Alphinaud, the four Pleroma present at the time, insisted to it that life was worth living despite that pain that came along with it, and promised they could care for Estinien in its stead. Accepting their vow, the entity bound them all to a contract that would be broken if they failed to shield him from suffering. It left Venera and the illness faded.

Last month, the Kenoma were deployed to Venera and to Godsblood with the intent of culling dissenters and citizens who showed disloyalty to the empire. During this conflict, the capture of Ryunosuke and Thoma drew Estinien into a battle against several Kenoma. Outnumbered and disadvantaged, the pain and panic Estinien experienced summoned the Innocence Entity once more. It possessed Estinien's body, using its power to dispense of the Kenoma challenging him, all while lashing against the Pleroma it saw as having broken their vows. This divine punishment fell upon Abel and Himeka as they were facing off against Ciel and Emet-Selch in Godsblood. Taking advantage of their suddenly prone enemies, the two Kenoma delivered them to the Regent.

The Kenoma had long-since hoped to capture Estinien, to use his connection to the entity as a weapon against it, but now the perfect bait had fallen into their hands. As the Pleroma rally to save their captured comrades, the Kenoma prepare to turn circumstances to their advantage, and to perhaps eliminate the Innocence Entity's threat once and for all...

❖ INCLUDED EVENT PROMPTS

◆ BURNED AT THE STAKE: In an effort to force the Pleroma's hand, the Regent will be scheduling the public burning of Abel and Himeka in Achamoth. After the failed public execution in Godsblood, why not try again! This will be set up to occur in a public square near the Citadel. The Pleroma will be in a race against time to save them before both their bodies and their shards are destroyed.

◆ INNOCENCE ON FIRE: As the Pleroma enter the city, the Innocence Entity, previously disinterested in fighting on behalf of Aions it considers oath breakers, will seemingly have a change of heart. It will offer its power to Estinien who will, in turn, temporarily ascend to boss monster level during this siege, wielding both the power of the Innocent and the Firebrand. This will be run as an official boss encounter in collaboration with Estinien's player, the mechanics of which will be explained along with the post. In addition, the radiance of the Innocence Entity will rob most Achamoth NPCs of their will to fight, leading to a conflict largely between Aions. Those of the Innocent Legacy will receive strange communion from the entity itself, which they can respond to as they will.

◆ FIREBRANDS RISING: As if summoned by the Pleroma's rebellious actions against the Regent's empire, Pleroma Firebrands participating in the raid will be blessed with additional power that will amplify along with the strength of their defiant conviction. This power can be extended, to a lesser to degree, by those fighting alongside them that are inspired by their example. In opposition, the Firebrands of the Kenoma will hold a natural resistance to the Innocent's assaults, and will find themselves with the ability to 'inspire' limited amounts of NPCs into defying the power robbing them of their will. In general, all Firebrands will feel supernaturally uninhibited by all that would hold them back from achieving their desires, whether those bonds be emotional or physical.

MOD NOTE: All characters who go participate in the event log will be awarded 1 Token, so please make sure to mark that on your AC. You will not receive the token if you don't claim it. For new players, they will be permitted to spend this token for use during the event, though this will only be relevant for those with the Normie Discount.

We would also like to be clear and say that the outcome of this event has been predetermined by the players most closely involved (Himeka and Abel will escape, Estinien will be captured) but everyone else's fates will be up in the air. The event itself will go up and take place on August 17th.

Comments

han sooyoung | artisan | pleroma

[pyojeol]

i haven't set up hsy's info post re: her abilities yet so please bear with me, AHHH, but a quick rundown is that she's a swordswoman + can create/control clones that look like her and other people. so she's like a melee + distraction type of fighter if that makes sense

pvp?
- i can offer brief pvp encounters, since hsy's goal will be to a.) attempt to access the citadel with claude (and run into sebaskaeya) b.) and probably sticking close to dokja. so i'm open to injuries! though probably nothing that might super incapacitate her since she'll (prayer emoji) probably be dissipating later when dokja and yjh slappyhands fight each other
- she's gonna make like a light once the innocence entity starts flailing around tbh LOOK SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW ESTINIEN? IS HE PLEROMA? KENOMA?? WHAT'S HAPPENING

looting????
- so hsy will absolutely try to steal from the NPCs once it's obvious they're not fighting back because of the Innocence entity. since the timeframe is kind of short, i figure she'll only have time to like... loot some people?? and by loot i mean pickpocket since i figure they're not gonna be there long enough to actually pull of a heist
- idk if any pleromas would do this with her when abel and himeka are on FIRE IN THE BG??? but (hsy voice) this ain't about them
- ofc this is open to kenomas trying to stop her too!! maybe we can yakkety sax sequence

[salvageable]

i can't believe she showed up just to die immediately i'm going to mcmurder yjh

[pyojeol]

ALMFSDLFMSD STOP DOn'T MCMURDER HIM JUST GRAB HER SHARD AFTER!!!

but also i know hei mentioned it but what if they all 2v1ed for a bit... hsy dies and kdj and yjh can hug it out later (cries blood)

me on disco: i can't write fight threads unless they're shitposty,
me now: i can write GAY fight threads no problem

[salvageable]

hug it out??? they're literally going to try and tear each other's throats out

but yah 2v1 works for me.... takes this to disco

[pyojeol]

LET ME DREAM!!!!!!!!!

[lockedon]

i'm so happy for the boyfriends 😊

[regression]

yaywon is really running with hsy's death as a consequence of queer drama

[lockedon]

where's my starter yaywon

[pyojeol]

LSDMFLFSD STOP pretzels u and bothers u on disco

[superbshot]

Looting yes. Let's do something with that, as they talked about.

[pyojeol]

thumbs up yes im totally down!! hilariously she'll have to pass off her loot/whatever she manages to get if she does to cait since SOMEONE is gonna DISSIPATE HER LATER (glares) but i figure she'll down for property damage and fisticuffing with NPCs/Kenomas once they realize they're being ROBBED

[superbshot]

That works for me then. Let's plan for it.

[pyojeol]

hehe o/// is it alright if i add you on plurk? or would reaching you via dm be easier?

[subsist]

don't??? loot????? does a guy have to stop her twice

[pyojeol]

kaeya please..... let her eat the rich just this once???

but it would be wildly funny if kaeya and hsy met 2 times during this raid on separate occasions

[subsist]

he'll make sure everything she takes is frozen rock solid, it's fine,

BUT WE SHOULD DO IT... if you still have room for round 2 shenanigans

Re: han sooyoung | artisan | pleroma

[gravings]

wow don't steal... gray will gently tell her to stop, GO RESCUE PEOPLE FROM BEING BURNED LIKE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO

[pyojeol]

IT'S FINE? THEY'RE FINE? LOOK THEY'RE BEING SAVED oh and there's estinien

give me a thread boba i just think gray and hsy having this convo would be so funny... hsy won't try to attack her since her arms will be full with loot that gray can take from her

[gravings]

sdfglksnjds thank you yaywon I knew you'd be good for my innate need for stupid threads

[expiera]

hello yaywon im sorry ive been molasses i was going to hit up ur ooc intro but everything happens so much at all times and just. just,

what if I give claude and hsy permission to raid the citadel kitchen/pantry, just one room, one lil section, (it has WAY too much food) (that has been cooked recently, too)

[pyojeol]

RUKI??? STOP YOU'VE BEEN SICK FLUFFS YOU thank you for ur hard work u've been running at 20 even tho u should be RESTING (FROWNS)

LMSDFLSFD yes please this would be so funny.... they're just like why be pleroma when the kenoma have food this good, and kaeya snipes them on their way out

[expiera]

hello again yaywon you know i've rested bc i'm back @ u with more terrible ideas

SO! We should still check with the mods just to be safe, but what if they bust into the pantry/kitchen, run into either a normie PC or someone's retainer/a Citadel orphan NPC'd by yours truly (a 12~13yo ish boy with black hair named Charles, do not look at me), then get guards/the Regent threatened on them?? WOULD THAT BE ENOUGH TO MAKE THEM LEAVE and barrel straight into kaeyabastian

that way you can swipe hella food and get yelled at a little (by potentially a child) but maybe also have a lil talkie with someone with a different perspective, with mod permission 🤔

[epiprocta]

yaywon why are you already in high chaos mode ...

anyway if you're open for it i'd love to sign up for the looting option near the way tail end of the event? i think it probably won't end up being very long, but i'd love for gen to bump into hsy (maybe while he's carting around eustace's shard and on high alert???) and to give her a big "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU" look

[pyojeol]

LSDMF im just sad that hsy won't try to save abel and himeka!!! WHY IS SHE JUST STEALING THINGS IN THE BG

but also please miru yes, this would be so funny. gen giving her a judging look and hsy stuffing her pockets with gold necklaces like it's free real estate.

will he be openly carrying around eustace's shard or will it be sequestered in a pocket close to his heart.... :3c i just ask because i think hsy pointing at him and going "you're stealing too?" would also be funny

[epiprocta]

okay but the pleroma are all Poor, it's so valid that she's grabbing whatever she can to make herself a quick buck, i'm in full support even if gen wouldn't be

i think ... gen is an idiot and would be carrying eustace's shard very carefully wrapped in his jacket because he'd be so scared of damaging it 😭 so hsy can definitely think he's also just stealing something valuable and secret